The Court of Appeal, in a majority decision, allowed R Subashini's application for an order to prevent her husband, T Saravanan, from converting their one-year-old son Sharvind to Islam and to stop him from commencing or pursuing claim for custody of their two children till her appeal was heard.

Sarvanan, now known as Muhammad Shafi Abdullah, claimed that the couple's older child Dharvin aged three converted to Islam with him in May.

He obtained interim custody of Dharvin from the Shariah Court on May 23 2006. "If the injunction is not granted, the wife's right will be overreached before the appeal is heard in the Federal Court and it will cause severe injustice.

There is also the possibility that the father will convert the second child, the threat is substantial," Subashini's counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarw ar told the court today, according to national news agency Bernama.

Earlier in March, the Court of Appeal, in a two-one decision, ruled that the Civil Court cannot stop a Muslim convert husband from going to the Shariah Court to get his marriage dissolved and obtain custody of his children.

The court held that Saravanan could proceed to the Shariah Court to dissolve his marriage with his non-Muslim wife Subashini.

The couple, who married in July 2001 under Hindu rites and registered under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976, have two children, Dharvin Joshua and Sharvind.